Handshake reviews

3.1

43% would recommend to a friend

(290 total reviews)

Garrett Lord

44% approve of CEO

37% positive business outlook

Handshake has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 290 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Handshake employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

290 reviews
1.0
Nov 8, 2023

No one is happy

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The company’s mission is really the only current pro.

Cons

I would strongly recommend that prospective employees and other stakeholders thoroughly review Glassdoor ratings. These reviews often highlight consistent themes that reveal the company's actual culture and operational issues. Beginning with the entire leadership team (minus chief education strategy officer), it's imperative to make changes. Their lack of empathy, misallocation of funds and resources, and persistent poor decision-making in prioritizing projects have consistently harmed the company's future outlook and prospects. The company's mission will likely struggle to succeed unless it is acquired. There's a clear presence of favoritism at the executive level. Favored but inexperienced managers and individual contributors are seldom held accountable, leading to lower morale and poor culture. The nuances of the platform lead to considerable frustration for both customers and the team. There's a lack of resources and data available to assist customers effectively. Furthermore, leadership's decision-making prioritizes other factors over the well-being of students and customers. Several workforce reductions occurred throughout the year, with many disguised as performance reviews or by subtly pushing people out. It wouldn't be unexpected if this trend persists throughout this year and into the next. Additionally, it's interesting how many direct reports did not reach out to their laid-off teammates. They preach empathy yet fail to show any and that says a lot.

avatar
Handshake Response
2y
Thank you for providing your feedback. While we’re sorry to hear that this was your experience while working here, we value your candid thoughts. It’s never easy to have to say goodbye to coworkers, whether on the leadership team or individual contributors, but we firmly believe that the individuals we have in-seat are the right ones to carry our company forward. Our twice-annual review processes are opportunities for performance to be objectively evaluated through calibration conversations with managers across a team, with attendees from the People Team and senior leadership. We recognize the growth opportunities we have within the product itself, and are confident that we have the vision and leadership in place to close those gaps. Again, we are grateful that you took the time to share your thoughts, and appreciate your candor.
3.0
Nov 1, 2023

Headed downhill

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

As cliche as it sounds the people are the best part of the role. Everyone was vibrant and friendly. Benefits were good, not great. Casual work environment with good to okay pay. The product itself has the opportunity to be extremely sticky due to their integrations with so many colleges.

Cons

After a recent large round of layoffs the companies future is certainly called into question. Leadership made some mistakes including cutting the overall contract value assuming that that would fix the new business problem. Similarly they are hanging their hat on new projects that they hope will both cut costs and automate inbound interest. While that is fine, they weren't open to differing opinions and became stuck on this pet project. There is no solidified process for anything. Decision making is disjointed and communication plans are non existent. When changes happen they depend entirely on the "this is tech, you need to thrive with ambiguity" as opposed to taking accountability for a better rollout of massive direct shifts. Mid level/director level management seems to have no ability to advocate for their departments. Whether that means upper management doesn't listen to them or the directors do a poor job stating their case, either way the result is the same. Finally, for a company that pushes forward DEI initiatives for their clients, it appears that they aren't conscious of making equitable decisions for their own internal talent.

avatar
Handshake Response
2y
We appreciate your feedback! We agree that the people are the best part of Handshake, and we think that we have the best people in place to achieve the goals we have for 2024 and beyond. We recognize that there have been a number of changes to the team in 2023, whether at the leadership level or among individual contributors, but we think that the current size of the team and the people in-seat are right for where we’re headed. We also acknowledge that we have room for growth in how we communicate changes, and that the rate of change we saw over 2023 was incredibly high. We’re looking forward to more stability in 2024 as we commit to the work directly related to our strategic priorities. In determining projects and plans, we strive to bring in a variety of voices to the extent practicable, but we could likely do a better job of communicating our decisionmaking process. Again, we thank you for sharing your thoughts and are committed to taking them seriously.
5.0
Oct 31, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great place to grow if you want to advance your career.

Cons

The market conditions will affect Handshake.

Viewing 127 - 129 of 290 Reviews

Glassdoor has 463 Handshake reviews submitted anonymously by Handshake employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Handshake is right for you.